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Breakthrough

COT16_team
 
Tim Susnara hit .176 last summer and was hitless in two games this year. David Gerics and Ross Achter are on temporary contracts.

Wednesday, they provided the heroics as Cotuit grabbed its first win of the season.

Susnara’s pinch-hit, two-run single broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth while Gerics and Achter combined for a solid pitching performance in a 5-3 win over Brewster at Lowell Park.

Not much has gone right in the early going for the Kettleers, who rank last in the league in team batting average and eighth in ERA. But with the victory Wednesday, they’re at 1-4 and they avoided the 0-5 starts that have caught Y-D and Hyannis.

Susnara (Oregon) stepped to the plate for Dayton Dugas (Wichita State) with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth. Facing Hansen Butler (North Carolina), a returning Whitecap, Susnara worked the count full and smacked a base hit to plate two runs.

In the seventh, Cal Stevenson (Arizona) scored on a wild pitch for an insurance run, but Achter (Toledo) didn’t need it. After Gerics (Pomona-Pitzer) allowed two runs in 4.2 innings, Achter – a solid starter for Toledo this spring – put four zeroes on the board before the Whitecaps grabbed a run in the ninth. The Whitecaps threatened for more when they loaded the bases, but Achter struck out Logan Warmoth (North Carolina) to end the game.

Achter earned the win and struck out four. Jackson Klein (Stanford) and Jordan Pearce (Nevada) knocked in one run each for the Kettleers and Albee Weiss (Cal State Northridge) homered.

 

Falmouth 3, Y-D 0

The Commodores notched their second straight shutout and their third consecutive victory with a 3-0 triumph over Y-D. Jake Bird, who had a good freshman season at UCLA before struggling a bit this year, was terrific in his Cape debut, pitching six no-hit innings with five strikeouts. Y-D touched up Keegan Baar (Michigan State) for its first two hits but no runs. Justin Hoyt (Jacksonville State) and Stephen Villines (Kansas) finished out the shutout, with Villines grabbing his second save, which is tied for the league lead. Matt Duce (Dallas Baptist) and Tyler Lawrence (Murray State) hit solo home runs to lead the Falmouth offense, with Bryce Johnson (Sam Houston State) adding an RBI groundout. Y-D remained winless as it managed only the two hits.

Chatham 8, Bourne 3

The Anglers smacked 13 hits and got solid pitching to hand Bourne its first loss of the season. Gunnar Troutwine (Wichita State) led the Chatham offense with three hits and an RBI. D.J. Artis (Liberty) continued his hot start with two hits and two RBI, and Sean Bouchard (UCLA) delivered the same line in his Cape debut. Patrick Mathis (Texas) also chipped in two RBI, his sixth and seventh of the year, and stretched his season-long hit streak to five. Tony Dibrell (Kennesaw State) allowed two earned runs in five innings for the win. Three relievers had scoreless outings, including Seattle U standout Nick Meservey, who was making his first appearance in Chatham. For Bourne, Justin Yurchak (Binghamton) had two RBI.

Orleans 11, Wareham 7

Trailing 7-4, Orleans scored seven runs in the eighth inning to stun Wareham. Twelve men came to the plate in the big rally, with singles by Chris Triano (Keystone College) and Riley Adams (San Diego) getting things started. Amazingly, Wareham recorded two outs with those two still on base, but the rally went on a long time after that. Payton Squier (UNLV) had a pinch-hit two-run single and Drew Lugbauer (Michigan) knocked in the tying run with a base hit. With the bases loaded, Riley Mahan (Kentucky) hit a triple to give Orleans the lead. Adam Haseley’s (Virginia) RBI single capped the rally. Wareham put a runner on in the ninth as it looked for a rally of its own, but Brandon Bielak (Notre Dame) worked around it for a scoreless final frame. Hasely and Mahan had three hits each to lead the Firebird attack. Gavin Sheets (Wake Forest) hit a grand slam for Wareham.

What to Watch

Falmouth is riding a streak of two consecutive shutouts and will look for another with Lipscomb star Brady Puckett on the hill for a home game against Hyannis. Puckett, the Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year, allowed three runs in his first Cape start on opening night.

 

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Kettleers eager to get going

cotuit
 
It was a hard off-season in Cotuit with the passing of Arnold Mycock and coach Mike Roberts’ wife, Nancy. It’s a good bet everyone is eager for some Kettleers baseball.
 

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Jeren Kendall
2. Jake Bivens
3. Alonzo Jones
4. Matt Ruppenthal
5. Colton Hock
 

NOTABLE

  • Jeren Kendall was poised to be one of the top returning players in the league but he has been invited to Team USA, so it remains to be seen whether he spends any time at Lowell Park. If he does, he’s certainly the guy to watch after his huge sophomore season.

  • Kendall’s Vandy teammate Alonzo Jones might be able to do a pretty fair impersonation. A year younger, he has pop and speed.

  • Cotuit’s online roster doesn’t include players on temporary contracts, but we’ll mention one here — East Tennessee State catcher Hagen Owenby hit .374 with 17 homers this spring and seems a safe bet to stick around all summer.

  • The Kettleers have three freshmen who were hearing a lot of draft buzz this time last year. They had varying results in their first years of college, though. Jason Bilous was solid for Coastal Carolina, but UCLA’s Justin Hooper and Mississippi State’s Jared Padgett saw limited action.

  • Stanford’s Colton Hock and Quinn Brodey were standouts for the NECBL’s Newport Gulls last year and are slated to be together again in Cotuit. Hock had a great spring in the Cardinal bullpen. Brodey – a two-way player in the past – honed in on the bat this spring.

  • Are any Mississippi State players not coming to the Cape? Cotuit has two, and I think every Cape team I’ve previewed so far has at least one, or sometimes four.

  • A pair of Mountain West Conference standouts in 2015 will be in Cotuit before starting a new chapter next year. Cory Voss and Cal Stevenson are both transferring to Arizona. Voss went the junior college route this year while Stevenson sat out the season at Arizona. Both are in Cotuit while their future Wildcat teammates head to a Super Regional.

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    PITCHERS

    Jason Bilous – FR – Coastal Carolina – 29th round pick last year had 4.04 ERA, struck out 45 in 42 innings in first season at Coastal
    Colton Hock – SO – Stanford – Had big 2015 with NECBL’s Newport Gulls and put up 2.03 ERA, 6 saves, 61 Ks in 57.2 IP this spring
    Bobby Holmes – SO – Coastal Carolina – Started six games and saved three, with lots of relief work in between and fanned 66 in 69.2 IP
    Justin Hooper – FR – UCLA – Six-foot-five lefty was highly-touted recruit, but pitched only eight innings of the bullpen this spring
    Tyler Johnson – SO – South Carolina – One of three Gamecocks with saves, he owns 9 to go with 55 Ks and just 8 walks in 50 IP
    Matt Ladrech – SO – California – Solid numbers in two years as a starter and had 4.30 ERA this season
    Taylor Lehman – SO – Penn State – Six-foot-eight left-hander finished with 4.79 ERA in Nittany Lions weekend rotation
    Jared Padgett – FR – Mississippi State – Highly-touted left-hander limited to 2.1 innings this spring
    Ryan Rigby – SO – Mississippi State – Strong reliever for Super Regional club has 1.75 ERA, 41 Ks in 19 appearances
    Josh Roberson – FR – UNC-Wilmington – Started three games and made 10 relief appearances with 6.04 ERA and 22 K in 22.1 IP
    Keith Rogalla – SO – Creighton – Former 37th-round pick struck out 59 in 73 innings as weekend starter for Blue Jays
    Matt Ruppenthal – SO – Vanderbilt – Shined in Vandy bullpen with 2.33 ERA, 59 Ks in 46.1 innings
     

    CATCHERS

    Tim Susnara – SO – Oregon – Struggled with the bat in Cotuit last summer but bounced back with .268 AVG, 2 HR for Ducks
    Cory Voss – SO – McLennan CC – MWC Freshman of the Year in 2015 at New Mexico starred in JUCO this year and is bound for Arizona
    Albee Weiss – SO – Cal State Northridge – Hit .219 and ranked second on the team with six home runs this season

     

    INFIELDERS

    A.J. Balta – RS SO – Oregon – In return from redshirt season, hit .219 with team-leading nine home runs and 47 RBI
    Jake Bivens – SO – Michigan – Big 10 Freshman of the Year in 2015 hit .356 as a sophomore with .441 OBP and 13 SB
    Clay Fisher – SO – UC Santa Barbara – Gauchos’ starting shortstop since day one last year, hitting .286 this season with only five errors
    Greyson Jenista – FR – Wichita State – Emerged as Shockers’ top hitter in big freshman year, hitting .326 with five home runs, 32 RBI
    Alonzo Jones – FR – Vanderbilt – Speedy infielder made impact immediately, hitting .285 with 18 XBH, 10 stolen bases
    Jordan Pearce – SO – Nevada – Built on strong freshman season by hitting .332 with 4 HR, 17 2B, team-high 47 RBI
    Josh Shaw – FR – St. John’s – Hit .292 with two home runs and stole seven bases while playing in all 55 games in freshman season
     

    OUTFIELDERS

    Quinn Brodey – SO – Stanford – Two-way standout focused on the plate this spring and hit .280 with 7 HR, team-best 41 RBI
    Dayton Dugas – FR – Wichita State – Hit .304 with four homers, 16 XBH in debut with Shockers
    Jeren Kendall – SO – Vanderbilt – Also a Team USA invite, followed summer in Cotuit with big sophomore year – .332, 9 HR, 28 SB
    Cal Stevenson – SO – Arizona – Hit .356 as a freshman at Nevada and sat out this year after transferring to Arizona